How to Remove a Golf Club Grip

SHARES

By Steve Silverman

Golfers tend to fall in love with their equipment. Once you find a set of clubs that you like, the chances are that you will play with them for at least 10 years. You may be enticed by new, top-of-the-line clubs, but the idea of giving up your old clubs is repugnant. To keep your old clubs in playing shape, you have to maintain them and that includes changing your grips every 12 to 18 months. If one side is worn down or they are shiny or stiff to the touch, its time to replace them. It's a job that can be done in less than an hour.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step 1

Take off the cap at the top of the club with your finger or a screwdriver to gain leverage. Loosen the grip stop at the bottom of the grip. The grip stop will slide down the shaft with a modicum of effort.

Step 2

Use a utility knife and make four vertical cuts down the shaft by starting near the top of the grips and continuing down to where the grip stop had been placed. Take the cuts down to the shaft of the club. Your utility knife will not damage the shaft. After the cuts have been made, reach into the gaps created by the cuts and peel off the grip.

Step 3

Apply a solvent, such as mineral spirits, to the grip area of the club to get rid of the original glue and any remnants of the previous grip. Apply a second coat of solvent to help clean stubborn areas. The club should feel smooth and clean. Then, take a dry rag to take off the remaining solvent.

Step 4

Apply grip tape to the club's upper shaft in order to put on a new grip. Wrap the grip counterclockwise about 7 to 8 inches down the shaft. Smooth out all air bubbles and bumps.

You can purchase grip tape in any golf pro shop or specialty store and in most large sporting goods stores.

Grip tape, a strong double-sided tape, is more than adequate to secure the new grip on the club if you play two or three times a week in a temperate climate. However, if you are playing more than that in very hot temperatures, you may want to use rubber cement to secure the new grip.

Pour solvent into the new grip. Shake the grip to make sure that the solvent spreads over the whole inner surface. Cover the grip tape with solvent as well.

Step 5

Apply the new grips by sliding them on over the top of the shaft. They should snap into place based on marked locations on the shaft. Raise the grip stop back to its former position and snap the cap back in place. Work quickly since the more time you take the harder it becomes to slide on the grip.

Grip tape needs only an hour to cure before you can resume use of the club. It will be fully dry in about 12 hours.

Tips & Warnings

Work in a well-ventilated area when using a solvent. If not, you could find the fumes to be noxious.

If you are applying new grips in high humidity, it is best to let the glue cure for six hours or more.

About The Author

Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.

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